Ok
I'm looking at dabbling into the original frog skin pairs to add to my current vintage set up

I'm only looking for white, black, neon yellow frames with either fire or purple lenses.

What should I be looking out for to know they are originals and not the re releases?

Am I correct in thinking the gen 1 have metal hinges?
Only gen 1 have the clear boxes?
Any markings on the stems/ frames I should be looking out for?

Any experts on frog skins out there, your skills would be much appreciated

Cheers
PJ

Gen 1 has metal hinges indeed. Also they have the Japan Marking on the earstem.

A gen 2 is easy to distinguish from the new frogskins by looking at the hinges too. They have a way shorter reinforcement part at the earstem, think along the line of 1st vs. 2nd gen M-frame in that sense.

Hi,

I know abit about frogskins. Its my experience that not all GEN1 have the JAPAN marking on the inside of the earstem. They did come in clear boxes and the lens fit is slightly smaller than that of the latest.

Also the Capitalization the F in frogskin is different i believe. Hinge on gen 2.is cylindrical vs conical on collectors.

I think it's also been said that towards the very end of the Gen1 Frogskin run they started using the corrugated boxes (like the Gen1 M Frame).

Cool
All good stuff
I'm only looking for select and I'm guessing some of the hardest and most popular pairs

Aditional information: From '85 to '89 Gen1 was Japan made with a flat painted logo on earstems also. Gen2 started in '90 and they have a new shape design. But the interesting thing is that from '89 at least '92 they came in clear boxes. In '94 they changed to corrugated boxes. So, based on timeline you will find some Gen2 on clear boxes. I can't say for sure what kind of box they came in '93 (M-Frame came in clear box...maybe Frogskins too). Check and study the database and catalogues for this model, it will help you. Good Luck!

^^ oh yea, yea, that's it. I knew I read that the boxes mixed in somehow.

All good
What about lenses

If I get a good pair of frames with beat lenses can I use current new release lenses as replacements or are there size variations?

It may be easier for me to make up mint pairs rather than pay crazy prices for nos pairs especially if all parts are genuine Oakley

Cheers

As said by Camo-monster there is a lens size difference issue. I have an old pair of Gen1 bronze lenses and they can not be mounted onto a current Frog frame. But maybe the opposite is possible if the lenses are reshaped slighlty smaller to fit in, maybe, but I guess this would have to be done by a professionnal.

A.

'93 probably had a mix of styles, as most transitional years go. M Frames had clear, as did Sub Zero's, but the Zero's went with the corrugated. More plastic boxes survived naturally, so those tend to show up more often.

When I did have some Gen1 Frog's for a bit, I did compare the original old lenses to new lenses. The old and new lenses are similar in overall shape (slight difference). The big difference I noticed is that the orginal lenses are very noticeably thicker than the new lenses.

Depending on the condition of the frame, it might matter and it might not. The Gen1 frame can be distorted and I think factory tolerances were a bit loose. I had one frame where new lenses fit in nice and tight and I had another frame where the new lens fit good on one side and loose on the other side. When installing the old lenses back into that frame, they would install fine because of that extra thickness to the old lenses.

The new lenses should fit in a Gen1 frame, but it'll depend on the condition and tolerances of the specific frame. You'll also have to decide if you are OK mixing the new lenes with the old frame, because technically they are not the same even though they install fine a lot of the time. It wouldn't work to put old lenses in new frames as Alex said.

Bear with me guys, as a newbie just learning about navigating the site and the forums. So I'll go for the stupid question about Vintage frogskins or re-release ones. Its about the star at the inner right side of the frame close to the hinge(not metal) of the right ear stem. It came with the corrugated paper box dated 1994. Label is Crystal Black and Black Iridium. Its not metal hinged. The logo is raised. it came with the old faded black cloth. It says Made in the USA but no CE not like the other frogs. It feels and look its legit. Just wanna know if these are 1994's or was just new ones that was placed on the 1994 box.And most especially the STAR thats on the frame. If there had been a thread before with these, I appreciate if you can send me the link to it so I can read more.

And also if they were 1994, did these came to these combo "Crystal Black and Black Iridium"? Thanks

The main way to tell between a 90's (Generation 2) and a modern (Collectors) is the hinge. On the older non-metals the pivot point was cylindrical. On the Collectors, it's tapered at the top and bottom almost like two cones merged at their base. Also the frogskins logo has a lowercase 'f' on the stem on the older ones.

Thanks Dann!

The main way to tell between a 90's (Generation 2) and a modern (Collectors) is the hinge. On the older non-metals the pivot point was cylindrical. On the Collectors, it's tapered at the top and bottom almost like two cones merged at their base. Also the frogskins logo has a lowercase 'f' on the stem on the older ones. - Dann

Can you explain the embossed star that's by the right hinge, on some? Is that found on both Gen 2/3 pairs, was it done for every pair in that specific color-way or only a select few deeming the pairs with the embossed star rarer than those w/o a star. I've picked up mentions of the star from other threads, but no real solid explanation what does that star represent? Is it there to help ID authenticity? Or are the starred pairs a more rare frame?

No too familiar with this. I can check mine and see if there's any pattern. It's not something I've noticed in the past, but I only picked up a few back when the Supremes and the Monthly editions debuted, then a few STPL's later on.